Brought to you by

Related Articles

The 2013 Myer Christmas Animated Windows in the Bourke Street Mall have been unveiled and are a beautifully animated tribute to a much-loved children's book, 'Gingerbread Friends'.

Santa Claus made a spectacular entrance abseiling down the seven story facade of Myer Melbourne with a troop of elves in tow. Singing sensation, Marina Prior, wowed the audience with her rendition of the classic song, 'Angels we have heard on high' from the 2013 Spirit of Christmas CD. The event was proudly supported by the City of Melbourne.

This year’s Windows showcase a number of technological developments to add to the visitor’s overall enjoyment and experience. Visitors just simply hold up any smartphone to the QR code, follow the instructions, and then will be able to access exclusive footage showing how the Windows come to life, from inspiration right through to the final creation. There are also narrated video storyboard screens in each window which will add a new layer of detail to the book’s plot.

"For so many people, over the past 58 years, visiting the Myer Christmas Animated Windows has become a family tradition during the festive season. We take great pride in evolving this tradition by introducing new technologies to further enhance the incredible craftsmanship of the Windows and continue to delight and surprise our customers,” said Mr Brookes.

'Gingerbread Friends' by the renowned American children’s author, Jan Brett, tells the charming tale of Gingerbread Baby as he sets out on an adventure to find a friend of his own. Gingerbread Baby heads to the local bakery in search of a kindred spirit, only to be chased away by a hungry mama mouse, and a long line of creatures, to take refuge back at home. To his great surprise Gingerbread Baby finds that he already has a whole host of friends at home.

Over the past 20 years the team at Stage One, led by John Kerr, have been responsible for the Myer Christmas Animated Windows, from the inspiration, through to creation and the tricky task of installation in the windows of Myer Melbourne. This year's Windows have been in production for seven months with 40 artisans contributing over 17,000 hours of labour to create the whimsical world of Gingerbread Baby with little more than raw materials such as clay, timber, steel and fabric.

A long-standing tradition for many families, the Myer Christmas Animated Windows are visited by estimated 1.2 million visitors from Australia and overseas each year.

The Myer Christmas Animated Windows are available for viewing from Friday 8 November to Sunday 5, January 2014 from 7:30am – 1:00am daily (with sound stopping from 10:00pm daily out of respect for the city neighbours).

After viewing the windows, Myer Melbourne has a range of Free Christmas activities in store. Customers can go to level 6 to visit Santaland where children can ride the Santaland Express, have their photo taken with Santa and post their Christmas wish-list letters to the North Pole.